Hilary Cline promoted to Vice President of Marketing and Direct to Consumer Sales, Steve Jannicelli joins Senior Management Team as Chief Financial Officer
September 9th – SONOMA, Calif. — Cline Family Cellars, a certified sustainable family-owned and operated winery and vineyard holder based in the Carneros wine appellation of Sonoma County, California, is pleased to announce the appointment of Hilary Cline to Vice President of Marketing and Direct to Consumer Sales, and the appointment of Steve Jannicelli as Chief Financial Officer. Cline Family Cellars is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year.
Hilary Cline, in her role as Vice President of Marketing and Direct to Consumer Sales will be responsible for all direct-to-consumer sales and marketing activities for Cline Family Cellars, Jacuzzi Family Vineyards and The Olive Press, including hospitality, e-commerce, and events.
“As the daughter of Cline Family Cellars founders, Fred and Nancy Cline, Hilary feels a deep connection to the family’s winery and vineyards. She was raised her and is determined to steward her parents’ groundwork on sustainability efforts and their commitment to social responsibility” noted John Grant, Chief Executive Officer of Cline Family Cellars. “Hilary’s passion, vision, and energy is a good alignment for leading the family business into the future with the same respect for the land and sustainable practices that have been a huge part of Fred and Nancy’s legacy.”
Hilary Cline joined her family’s business in 2015 as part of Cline Family Cellars wholesale sales team and worked for two years in the Northern California and Nevada territories. After gaining outside production experience at Pernod Ricard in New Zealand, Mumm Napa and Kenwood Winery in Sonoma, Hilary re-joined
Steve Jannicelli joins Cline Family Cellars as Chief Financial Officer, under the direction of John Grant, Chief Executive Officer.
In this role, Steve will oversee finance, I.T., administration, and HR departments, located at the company’s winery offices in Sonoma, California.
“Steve is a seasoned leader who brings over 25 years of business experience, financial acumen and people savvy to this key senior management role. His focus on team building, insight oriented financial reporting, system optimization and cross departmental collaboration will materially strengthen the Cline business” says John Grant.
“I was drawn by the company’s potential, the caliber of the new management team, the Cline family’s long held belief in sustainable farming and the reassurance that the business would remain in family hands under next generational ownership,” says Steve.
Prior to joining Cline Family Cellars, Steve Jannicelli served as Vice-President, Finance and Information Technology for Clover Sonoma, where he spent 9 years. He began his career in auditing and consulting with Deloitte & Touche, and was recruited by The Gap/Banana Republic in 1997.
He later left the company to pursue an MBA while working for Peoplesoft and Adobe, and then returned to consulting in “CFO services” in the wine industry for Moss Adams and Burr Pilger Mayer where he created the BPM Wine survey.
Steve Jannicelli is a native of Northern California and received his Masters of Business Administration in Finance and Marketing from Santa Clara University. He resides with his family in the North Bay.
About Cline Family Cellars
Cline Family Cellars, established in 1982, is a family-owned winery in Sonoma, California, built on a passion for winemaking and rooted in respect for the land. While Cline is well-known for Zinfandel, Fred and his wife Nancy have devoted the past 30 years to the planting of sustainably farmed vineyards throughout Sonoma County. Today those vineyards showcase Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. To learn more please visit clinecellars.com
For more information, please contact Charene Beltramo at cbeltramo@clinecellars.com
